Combination lock and switch



I. B. SIMMS.

COMBINATION LOCK AND SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED 0Ec.a0. I9I8.

1,396,667, Patented Nov. 8, 1921. I

2 SHEETSSHEET JMJJ INVENTOR Ira/22 B. Six/19925 ATTORN EYS I. B. SIMMS.

COMBINATION LOCK AND SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-3011918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented NOV. 8, 1921.

INVENTOR Ira/lie 3672927115 $29 M ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I lawn: is. sums, or srocxzron, crime-01min.

COMBINATION. LOCK AND SWITCH.

To all 'w/zom itmag concern: Be it known that L'IRWIN B. SIMMS, citizenof the United States, residing at Stockton, in the county of San Joaquinand State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements inCombination Locks and current being turned onby a person who has videmeans for sounding an audible alarm' not the knowledge of the rightcombination.

Another object of the invention 1s to provide means for sounding anaudible alarm ifeither the ignition or the starting sw tch isv tamperedwith. a

Another object of the invention is to proif the permutation lock is setby the owner of the automobile before leaving the same and the ignitionswitch is inadvertently left in a closed position, this being providedfor the purpose of reminding the ownerv that the ignition switch shouldbe turned off.

Further objects will hereinafter appear. The invention consists of theparts and the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter morefully described and claimed, having reference to theaccompan-ying drawins, in which-- l igure l is a diagrammatic view showlng the position ofthe several switches and also the position of the permutation lock bywhich they are operated.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the mechanism employed inthe permutation lock.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the permutation lock.

Fig. i is a similar view showing the cover plate removed.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on line 5-5 of.

Fig. .4 showing the permutation lock and connection switch mechanism inend view.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and

particularly to Fig; 1: A indicates the lglll- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented'Nov. 8, 1921.

Application filed December 30, 1913. Serial No. 268,800.

tioii switch; .13 the starter switch; 2 the spark plugs on the engine; 3the starter proper and 4 the horn. 'Interposed in the circuit betweenthe ignition swltch and the plugs 2 and also between the starting switchand the starter 3 is a switch mechanism generally indicated at C.- Thisswitch is ro vided for the purpose of making or breaking the circuitthrough. theignition and starter switches and is in this instance openedor closed by means of a. permutation lock generally indicated at D. Theswitch C is mounted in a casing 5 and consists of an arm 6 whichispivotally mounted as at 7. The arm 6 serves as a knife switch and is inthis instance movablebetween a pair of contact-s shown at 8 and 9.Formed on the arm 6 is a. projecting lug 10 and secured on the arm 6rearwardly of lug 10 is an insulating plate 11. Engageable with theinsulating plate is a. spring arm 12 which is permanently secured at oneend to the casing. The opposite end of the arm also serves as a knifeswitch and is in this instance [movable between a pair of contacts 13and 14-. The switch arm 12 when in engagement with the contact 13 isinterposed in the circuit between. the ignition switch and the sparkplug 2,

it is therefore adapted to make or break a circuit therethrough, whenthe ignition switch is closed. The switch arm 6 is interposed in thecircuit between the starter and the starting switch and is thereforeadapted to make or break the circuit through the starter when thestarting switch is closed.

The switch arms 6 and 12 are also provided for the purpose of closing anauxiliary circuit through the horn 4 which will herein after be known asthe alarm circuit, said circuit being established whenthe ignition andstarter circuits are broken by the switcharms and when either theignition or the starting switch is tampered with, as will hereinafter bedescribed.

The switch arms 6 and 12 are adapted to operate in unison, that is, theywill simultaneously close the ignition and starter circuits or they willsimultaneously break said circuits. This is accomplished by means of thepermutation lock generally indicated at D. The lock consists of a stem15 extending through the front of the casing, the stem being journaledat one end of the casing, as at 16, and at the opposite end in a bracket17. Secured on the outer end of the stem is a knob 18 by'which it may beturned, and

secured on the stem, interior of the casing, is a disk. 19 in which isformed a cam-shaped notch 20. Also secured on the stem is an indicatingdial 21 which is graduated and numbered from 1 to 10. Turnably mountedon the stem, interior of the casing, is a pair of disks 22 and 23 andsecured on each of said disks is an inwardly projecting pin 24 and 24,therebeingone pin on each disk. These disks are arranged one on eachside of the central disk 19 and are adapted to be turned by said disk.This is accomplished by securing one pin 25 on one side of the diskwhich is engageable' with pin 24 and a pair of pins 26 on the other sideof the disk which are adapted to, engage with pin 24. 4

The disks 22 and 23 are also notched as shown at 27 and 28 and it isnecessary that the notches in the several disks register as shown inFigs. 1 and 4 if it is desired to close the circuits through theignition and starter switches. This is due to the fact that the lug 10onthe switch'arm 6 engages the periphery of thedisks 19, 22 and 23 andwill therefore hold the switch arms 6 and 12 out of engagement with thecontacts 9 and 13 unless a register is made with the notches previouslydescribed. It is therefore necessary for a person operating thecar toknow the combination before it is possible to set the permutation lockwhere the notches will register and the switch arms can engage thecontacts. 9 and 13. I

In actual operation if the circuit is broken through the contacts'9 and13' and it is desired to close the circuits through the same it isaccomplished by turning the knob 18 first in a right hand directionuntil a certain number on a dial 21 registers with one of thegraduations shown at 30, for instance the extended central graduation31. It is then necessary to reverse the movement of the knob untilanother number registers with the graduation 31, and then again toreverse the direction of the knob to permit a third number toregister'with the graduation 31'. These operations will bring theseveral disks into such a position that the notches will register, thisbeing due to the fact that the pins 25 and 26 on the central diskalternately engage the pins 24- and 24 on the outer disks, saidengagement transmitting a turning movement to the said outer disks whichbrings the notches into alinement, thus permitting the lug 10 to dropinto the same and the switch arms 6 and 12 to engage with the contacts.It then will only be necessary for the operator to close the ignitionswitch A and depress the starter B, or in other words to start theengines in the usual manner.

The operator when leaving the car and desiring to temporarily break thecircuits through the ignition and starting switches to prevent theelectric current being turned on by a person who has not the knowledgeof the right combination, will only have to turn theknob. This causesthe cam-shaped notch 20 in the central disk to engage the lug 10 andraisethe switch arms 6 and 12 out of engagement with the respectivecontacts 9 and 13 and it will simultaneously raise said arms to a pointwhere they will engage with the contacts '8 and 14. A circuit throughthe horn 4 and the ignition and starting switches is thus prepared whichis closed it either the ignition or starting switch is closed. This isof considerable importance as it provides an audible alarm which isthrowninto operation if either the ignition or starting switch isclosed. For instance, after the owner leaves the car and opens thecircuit which is controlled by the permutation lock'it can readily beseen that an unauthorized person or thief entering the carwill mostlikely first close theignition. switch and then depress the starterswitch. Such person would however not be able to accomplish anything asthe closing of the ignition switch wouldnot close a circuit through thespark plugs but 'would only close a circuit through the horn, thuscausing the same to sound and attract the attention of by-standers. Thecircuit through said horn would be closed whether the ignition switchwas first operated or the starter switch. 1 I

These circuits may be traced as follows:

Current from any suitable source, as the battery.32 here shown passesthrough wire 33, ignition switch A, wire 29, arm 12, contact 14, contact8 and wire 34 which is connected with one of the terminals of the horn,The current will then pass through the horn and operate same and thecircuit would be completed by passing it to ground connection 35 shown.Therefore the circuit through the horn is controlled by the ignitionswitch. A similar circuit is also controlled by the starting'switch. Forinstance, a current passing through wire 33 and switch B would passthrough wire 37, switch arm 6, contact 8, and wire 34. It will thus passthrough the horn to the ground connection, thereby also forming acircuit which would operate the horn if the starter switch B is closed.The horn is in this instance also provided with a permanent connectionconsisting of wires 33 and 38. Switch 39 interposed on this circuit isnormally employed to operate the horn. The circuit through the hornestablished through the ignition switch, the wire 34, arm 12, contact14, contact 8 and wire 34 is also employed as a warning for theoperator. For instance, if he should leave the car and merely turn thepermutation lock and should happen to forget to break the circuitthrough the ignition switch, then it is obvious that the circuit throughthe horn would be established and this would immediately commenceoperating, the owner would therefore know that either the ignition orstarting switch had not been turned oil and would thus be reminded, tothis extent rendering it impossible to run down the batteries by leavingan circuit closed.

The permutation lock hereshown may be changed from time to time ondifferent cars so it would be impossible for one owner to operateanother car. Many combinations can be obtained, as it is only necessaryto change the position of the dial 21 or to change the position of oneor more of the pins 24, 24 or 26. Again the combination may be changedby varying the position of the notches formed in the disks, or byincreasing or decreasing the number of disks emplo ed. I therefore donot wish to limit mysel to the specific arrangement and constructionshown as it is obvious that many changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

. Similarly, while the switch as here shown is employed in connectionwith an automobile, it isobvious that it may be interposed on anyelectric circuit for the purpose of making or breaking said circuit,whether said clrcuit controls the operation of a motor, a lockmechanism, a signal circuit, burglar alarm or other device.

Furthermore I wish it understood that the materials and finish of theseveral parts employed may be such as experience and judgment of themanufacturer may dictate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. The combination with the ignition and startingswitches on an automobile of a pair of switches, one connected in theignition circuit and one in the starting circuit, a er- -mutati,0n lock,means actuated by said ock for opening said switches in unison to breakthe circuits through the ignition and starting mechanism, and mean alsocontrolled by the permutation lock for1ocking the switches in said openposition.

2. The combination with the ignition and starting switches on anautomobile of a pair of switches, one connected in the ignition circuitand one in the starting circuit, apermutation lock, means actuated bysaid lock for opening said switches in unison to break the circuitsthrough the i nition and starting mechanism, means a so controlled bythe permutation lock for locking the switches in said open position, anelectrically operated horn and means carried by each of said last namedswitches for establishing an electric circuit through the horn,

switches are adapted to engage when in the open position.

4. The combination with the ignition and starting switches on anautomobile of a second pair of switches adapted to make or break thecircuit through the first named switches, means for opening the secondnamed pair of switches in unison, said means also adapted to lock saidswitches in the open position, an electrically operated audible alarmmechanism connected with an electric circuit, and a pair of contacts insaid circuit with which the second pair of switches are adapted toengage when in the open position, said second pair of switches whenengaging the contacts adapted to prepare a'circuit through the alarmmechanism which may be closed or .opened by either the ignition or thestarting switch. 4

5. In a wiring system of the class described, an electric source ofsupply, an ignition circuit and a starter circuit having common returns,a switch in each circuit, a

circuit breaker interposed in a lead of each circuit between the switchand place of ignition, and starting motor respectively, said circuitbreakers each substantially re resenting a single pole, double throwswitch includin means for simultaneous loperation and adapted to openthe starting circuit and ignition circuit simultaneously, anelectrically actuated signal having a return in common with the ignitioncircuit and starter circuit, said circuit breakers including a pair ofcontactsdisposed so that the free ends of each circuit breaker willengage one of said contacts and a common connection between saidcontacts and the other side of the signal.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

IRWIN B. SIMMS.

